Apparatus for the manufacture of plate-ice.



E. E. QAINER. 4

APPARATUS For: THE MANUFACTURE OF PLATE 10E.

' APPLICATION FILEDIOV. 8, 1910. 1,082,512, Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

/////////VV-7// A 1% bneooeo' UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

EDWARD n. eAmnn, or OKLAHOMA, oKLAnonA, ASSIGNOR ro eno or nnooxmm, newYORK.

APrAnAros non 'rrin irANuFAorunE or rLArn-Ion Specification of LettersPatent.

Applie'atlonflled November 8, 1910. Serial No. 591,219.

To all whom it may concern;

-Be it known that I, EDWARD E. GAINER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oklahoma cit in the county of Oklahoma and State ofgklahoma, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Appalaws for the Manufacture of Plate-Ice, of

which the following is a specification.

The invention is an apparatus for the manufacture of late ice.

In .the particu ar embodiment of my ap paratu's which is hereinafter setforth, I employ a header from which depend a plurality of tubes'closedat their lower ends,

which enter for a suflicient depth, thewater to be frozen. These tubesare kept filled with liquid ammonia, the gas; developed being drawn, oiifrom the header and returned thereto after condensation and lique--faction, as already described. The ice forms upon the tubes first ascylinders which, as they enlarge indiameter, finally meet and form asingle cake from which the tubes are subsequently withdrawn after thethawing ofi operation is accomplished.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 shows a freezing \tank in sectionwith the header and depending tubes disposed therein, and the variousconnections and associated devices illustrated diagrammatically. Fig. 2is a longitudinal section of one end of the'header and connecteddepending tubes,

showing the arrangement of the ends of the tubes in said header. Fig. 3is a longitudinal section of the valves and couplings at the ends of theheader.

Similar numbers of reference indicate like arts. p 1 is a tank whichcontains the water to be frozen. p

2 is a header supported upon the side walls of the tank in any suitableway. Depending from the header are a. numberof parallel vertical tubes 3closedat their lower ends. Said tubes enter; the bottom ofthe header andextend therein upward in the leader for a short distance ,as indicatedin Fig. 2. At one end of the header is an inlet For liquid ammonia; atthe other end, an utlet for gas. The inlet communicates by pipe 4 with avalve casing 5, in which is ;eated a valve 6, Fig. 3. The outlet oomaredetachably connected to municates by pipe 7 with a similar valve casing8, in which is seated a valve 9. The casings and 8 have flanges, bywhich they similar flanges on slmllar casings 10, 11, in which casingsare valves 12 and 13. i

. As shown in Fig. 3, the valves 12, 9, 6, 13 are frusto-conical inform, and-are ground to fit accurately the correspondingly shaped seatsin'their casings. The bottoms of each pair of valves,"as 12, 6, are alsoground to fit accurately together when said valves are seated and whenthe flanges of their casings 'arecoupled. Each valve is operated bymeans of a stem 14, seated in a threaded and secured in said recess byan. annular threaded collai: 15. Each stem passes through a bonnet 16bolted to the valve casi g, and is threaded to pass through a bushing ina suitable standard 17 cast integral with said bonnet. On the end of thestem is the usual operating wheel.

To the valve casing is connected a pipe 19 which communicates with aclosed receptacle 20, and said receptacle 20 connects by pipe 21 withthe suction end of the compressing pump 22. The delivery pipe 23 of saidpump connects with one end of the condensing coil 24, disposed in aclosed vessel 25. Said vessel 25 has an inlet 26 and an outlet 27 forthe cooling water, and also communicates by a pipe 28 with a closedreceptacle 29, which in turn by pipe 30 communicates \with valve casing11. From the recess in said valve,

RGE E. LLEWELLYN,

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

headed at one end,

bottom of receptacle 20 a pipe 31 extends to receptacle 29. From thepump delivery pipe 23 a by-passpipe 32, provided with aval've 33,extends to the header 2 and is detachably connected thereto by a pipecommunieating with said header and rovided with a. valve 35. A coupling36 etachably connects pipe 32 to the header pipe.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The valves 12, 9, 6, 13being opened, litglid ammonia from any suitable source is le through thepipe 37 into the receptacle 29, whence it flows by pipes 30 and 4 intothe header 2 until it rises above the upper ends of the tubes 3. Theliquid ammonia then flows down into all of thetubes 3 at the same timeand fills them, so that at the beginning 50 adherentice ca of theice-making process all of the tubes are filled with liquid ammonia andalso the header up to the tops of the tubes therein. The ammonia thentakes up the heat from the waterin the tank 1, so that said waterbecomes frozen on the exposed outer surfaces of the tubes. The ice formsfirst as cylinders around the tubes, but as the cylinders increase indiameter they meet and become welded together, finally forming acontinuous cake 38, which is adherent to and supported upon said tubes.As the liquid ammonia receives heat from the water it vaporizes. Thegasas it is formed is constantly drawn off by the pump 22'through thereceptacle 20, is compressed by said pump, and is delivered to the coil24, where it becomes condensed to liquid which flows by pipe 28 toreceptacle 29, and so to the header. The receptacle 20 operates as atrap to catch any liquid formed between header and pump and to deliverthe same through pipe 31 to inlet pipe 4. This operation of drawing ofithe gas, compressing and condensing it into liquid ammonia and returningit to the header oes on continually during the formation of idle icecake. During its progress the valves 33 and 35 are kept shut, and thecoupling 36 may be disconnected. It is to be noted that the capacity ofthe pump is preferably to be such as constantly to remove in a giventime the gas produced in the same time. And the quantity of liquidreturned to the header is to be such as will compensate for the loweringof the liquid level of the ammonia in the header, due to thevaporization takin' place, so that by this means the liquid leve in theheader is maintained substantially constant. 40 Of course, any loss dueto accidental circumstances, such as leaks, or the like, is easilycompensated for by admitting into receptacle 29, small additionalquantities of liquid ammonia from the original source. When 46 theicecake on the tubes has attained the desired thickness the pump isstopped, the valves 12, 9, 6, 13 are \closed, and their flangedcouplings disconnected. By any suitable hoistin means the header, tubesand ie are lifted fromthe tank and placed upon a tilt' port. The plpe32, whic may be flexible of any suitable length, is now coupled to theheader, the valves33, 35 opened. The pump is again started, and nowdelivers warm compressed header and a ove the liquid ammonia therein.This warm gas heats the tubes, and by its increased pressure raises theboiling point of the ammonia confined in the header and duct system, sothat said ammonia also becomes warmed. The result is to thaw the icecake from the tubes-3, so that on lifting the header the tubes maybe'drawn out of the cake. I prefer to remove the ice cake s through pipe'32 into thetable or other sup- 7 means for withdrawing the gas 'due toevapfrom the tank prior to thawing off but the operation may be done, ifdesired, in the tank. The valves 12, 9, 6,. 13 are closed as before, thepipe 32 is connected and valves 33, 35 opened, and when the header andtubes are lifted, the ice cake remains in the tank and may be removed bythe usual tongs or other liftin out means. As previousl stated, thisapparatus does awa with all heating of a non-congealable liquid, such asbrine, and with all the apparatus for containing and circulating thesame. The result is not only a large economy in cost of the apparatus,but an even eater one in the expense of manufacture, dr onetransformation of energy is obviated. Inaddition, the speed of iceproduc tion is notably enhanced.

I claim:

1. An ice making apparatus comprising a header having a liquid inlet, aplurality of tubes each closed at its lower end dependin therefrom, andmeans for causing said liqui 'to flow simultaneously into said tubes.

2. An ice making'apparatus comprising a header having a liquid inlet,and a lurality of tubes depending from said hea er: each of said tubesextending at its upper end into said header for a predetermined distanceand closed at its lower end.

3. An ice-making apparatus, comprising a. tank, a header, a plurality oftubes, each closed at its lower end, depending from said header intosaid tank and extending at its upper end into said header, means for delivering a volatile refrigerating liquid into said tubes, and meanscommunicating with said header above the upper ends -of said tubes fordrawing ofi gas therefrom.

4. An ice making apparatus comprising a tank, a header, a plurality oftubes eac closed at its lower end depending from said header into saidtank, means for delivering liquid ammonia into said header and tubes,

111 oration of said liquid ammonia from sa1d header, means forliquefying said gas, and a duct for returning said liquid to saidheader.

5. An ice making apparatus comprising a tank, a header, a plurality oftubeseach closed at its lower end depending from said header into saidtank, means for delivering liquid ammonia into said header and tubes,means for withdrawing the gas due to evaporation of said liquid ammoniafrom said header, means for compressing said gas, means for liquefyingsaid compressed gas, a duct delivering said liquefied gas to saidheader, a valve controlling said duct, 8 bypass delivering saidcompressed gas into said header, and a valve controlling said by- 6. Anice making apparatus comprising a header having an inlet for liquidammonia and a gas outlet, a plurality of tubes each closed at its lowerend depending from said header, a gas pump, a suction duct leadingtherefrom communicating with said gas outi let, a trap for liquid insaid suction duct,

and a duct leading said liquid from said trap to said header inlet.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GERTRUDE T. PORTER, MAY T. MCGARRY.

